The Nation Newspaper | Fruitful tourism gains in Barbados

The Nation Newspaper | Fruitful tourism gains: "The highly specialised in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure is turning out to be a godsend for Barbados as a medical tourism destination.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr Joy St John, speaking during the official opening of the In-vitro Fertilisation

Unit at the Barbados Fertility Centre (BFC), Hastings, Christ Church, yesterday, said health tourism was rapidly growing in Barbados.

She said this was evidenced by the fact that last year 50 per cent of people who sought this service came from outside of Barbados.

Speaking in the absence of official figures, she said this trend was expected to increase this year and projected that over the next five years 70-80 per cent of those who were visiting for the service would be medical tourists.

Medical tourists are those who come to the island primarily to seek medical attention.

St John said infertility was a significant stressor for couples.

'It has been reported that infertile women experience distress levels equivalent to those women who are diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or HIV.

'The BFC goal of having a stress reduced IVF programme, is therefore a main focus of the health tourism package.'

She lauded the BFC for coming up with the IVF holiday package which focused on reducing the stress of the situation of infertility and promoted a healthy mind and body programme.

'This new unit integrates health and tourism into the package and provides a location which offers a commanding view of the South Coast and is equipped with ultra-modern laboratories, egg retrieval theatre, a four-bed recovery room as well as consultation suites and ultrasound rooms.'

She said the last two years of the clinic – which was originally located in Bay street, St Michael – had been very successful.

She added that since the centre expanded to become a full-time service for clients in 2004, the centre witnessed a growth of 150 per cent in in-vitro fertilisa"

News -- Mangalore: City Emerging as Hot Spot for ‘Continuing Medical Education

D A I J I W O R L D: "News -- Mangalore: City Emerging as Hot Spot for ‘Continuing Medical Education’


Daijiworld News Network – Mangalore (SS)

Mangalore, Oct 1: The Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kasturba Medical College, organized a three-day international CME (continuing medical education) programme and workshop on ‘head, neck diseases and skull-base tumours’, here recently.

Kishore Chandra Prasad, head of the department, said the programme attracted more than 200 delegates not only from India, but other countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Malaysia, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

The workshop discussed latest modalities of treatment related to head, neck, skull base tumours and cancers. Lectures, panel discussions and surgeries were held for the delegates. Surgical demonstrations were telecast live from KMC Hospital, Attavar, to the conference hall at the T.M.A. Pai International Convention Centre, at M.G. Road here.

While patients from Kerala are regular visitors to many hospitals in the city, patients from north India undergo cardiac operations in leading hospitals. People from Kashmir, Nepal and Lakshadweep, underwent heart operations at the A.J. Hospital and Research Centre, last year.

Voluntary organizations conduct medical camps in association with hospitals. Also, many leading medical professionals in the city are being invited by medical bodies in other countries to exchange knowledge. The city therefore has not only surfaced as a destination for medical tourism, but also for continuing medical education (CME) programmes."

Business: U.S. patients travel globe for medical care

Business: U.S. patients travel globe for medical care: "U.S. patients travel globe for medical care

India and other Asian countries are gaining reputations as places to go for top-quality procedures at a fraction of the cost.

By Associated Press
Published October 2, 2005

BOMBAY, India - Bradley Thayer, a retired apple farmer from Okanogan, Wash., traveled 7,500 miles to get his torn knee ligament fixed and says he paid a third of what it would have cost him in a U.S. hospital.

And that included air fare to Bombay.

Thayer, 60, had no health insurance when he fell and injured himself while visiting British Columbia. He says his U.S. doctors told him he would have to wait six months for surgery and pay bills totaling $35,000. So he joined a rising tide of American and European patients heading to India, Thailand and Singapore for top-class orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, infertility treatment and cardiology that come much cheaper than in the West.

It's the latest in outsourcing: Asian doctors study in the United States or Britain, acquire their skills and reputations in hospitals there, then take them back to their home countries and wait for the business to come to them.

'Flying half way around the world is cheaper,' said Thayer, beaming from his Bombay hospital bed. 'I came straight to India. It's a long way to come without tests, but I feel great.'

He had never been to India, and he first had to overcome the stereotypes at home.

'My friends and relatives said I was crazy. They said, 'They'll cremate you along the Ganges.''

But he already felt familiar with Asian doctors. 'In Canada and America, when you read the names of doctors in hospitals, every third or fourth doctor is Indian,' he said.

Hospitals in Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore have been taking these so-called 'medical tourists' since the mid 1970s, initially from the Middle East and South Asia, later from Africa, and now from the West.

So far, new"

Plenitas Launches World Class Health & Leisure Packages In Argentina For American, Hispanic and European Medical-tourists

Hispanic PR Wire - Plenitas Launches World Class Health & Leisure Packages In Argentina For American, Hispanic and European Medical-tourists: "Plenitas Launches World Class Health & Leisure Packages In Argentina For American, Hispanic and European Medical-tourists

Breast Implants & Tango Packages Liposuction and Other Surgeries Also Offered



Buenos Aires, Argentina / Miami, FL--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--July 20, 2004--Today Plenitas S.A. launched the most comprehensive medical-tourism operations in the world by offering patients access to world class medical procedures with state-of -the-art technology combined with first class travel packages at a very affordable cost structure, announced Roberto Gawianski, CEO and co-founder. Plenitas is a leading medical-tourism provider based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“Argentina has a level of excellence in medical care, procedures, treatments and technology which is equal to US and European standards,” said Roberto Gawianski. “When you combine our world class facilities with the natural Latin warmth in doctor-patient relations, we create an atmosphere that treats patients with human dignity and respect and not as an insurance case number.”

We hope to attract US Hispanic tourist that are looking for a different vacation experience combined with the quality medical care that Argentina is famous for, added Gawianski.

Each medical-tourist is provided with full service for their medical and travel needs. Plenitas offers the following quality services:

-- 24/7 personal assistant
-- Pre-travel consultations with the Doctor
-- Post-surgery consultations with the Doctor
-- Post-treatment recovery
-- Full-service travel arrangements including transfers, hotel
-- Complete tour packages including customized options

World Class Medical Provider

Plenitas offers medical services through their alliance agreements with 17 leading medical clinics, hospitals and centers with access to hundreds of board certifi"

Call the doctor very slick - a Phillipines view of medical tourism

Call the doctor very slick: "RECENTLY, the Makati Medical Center, the hospital in the premier business district, bought some hi-tech equipment to get rid of the spouse of the boss.

Oops, I mean, the equipment can do away with the most compelling reason of the spouse of the boss to always leave for the United States, such as once every full moon.

And that is, of course, not just shopping, but also the needed medical 'checkup.'

But now 'Makati Med,' as the hospital is known to my generation, has a unit of the GE brand of the 64-slice CT scanner.

Of course, it's a name that everybody can immediately recognize to have been lifted from a top-secret nuclear weapon code.

* * *

LET'S just say that the equipment is so modern that it must have a really weird name.

For now, just take comfort in the fact that the equipment can be good for our economy, because it can help preserve a good chunk of our precious dollars.

It's the money that the rich -- such as the boss' spouse, mother-in-law, and the whole family, together with the nanny -- normally spends for 'checkups' in advanced medical institutes in the United States, such as Disneyland.

Really, since they have money, they can always afford to go to the United States for some life-saving medical procedures for cough and cold.

After all, who should do the procedures there but Filipino doctors, assisted by Filipino nurses, with all the analyses done by Filipino med-techs and Filipino computer technicians?

Yet here we are, our struggling Department of Tourism trying to promote this so-called medical tourism for our country in these parts of the globe.

As a matter of fact, people from around the region come to the Philippines for medical treatment, such as those from Palau, Guam, ASEAN, or even Cebu province (which thinks it is not part of the Philippines).

I think the Department of Tourism should promote it among the rich instead. And that's where Makati Med should c"

Medical tourism likely to become India’s next big success story

Travel Video Television News: "Medical tourism likely to become India’s next big success story
Oct 08, 05 | 1:05 am


As the concept of medical tourism continues to gain momentum in India, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, following a meeting with the Ministry of Tourism, has stated that a National Accreditation Health Board has to be set up for maintaining international standards in our medical facilities.

“Medical tourism as an industry has begun to take concrete shape with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Tourism thrashing out the intricacies involved,” said an official statement. The intricacies discussed include price banding, hospital accreditation, quality control, categorization and selection of hospitals etc.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss said that the government has cleared medical visa and there is tremendous potential for tourism as well as for the health sector, with India specially being cheapest destination for medical care of highest standards. He also emphasized on modern diagnostics with Indian systems of medicinal care, which has been accepted as an effective system of healthcare worldwide.

Tourism Minister Renuka Chaudhary said that the initiative will be taken up on pilot basis to begin with. She said, India as a highly skilled destination in holistic health-care, has already been receiving tourists coming here for medical treatment, particularly for specialized care and typical problems.

Recently, it was decided that a Task Force on health tourism constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare would assess the opportunities for promoting India as a health destination, recommend action to be taken by the central and state governments and specially recommend about super specialty medical care, outsourcing of medical services to Indian IT based institutes and gainfully utilize the expertise available in traditional medicines.

The Task Force"

Japanese Study Helps Iran Develop Spas Tourism

CHN | News: "Tehran, 10 October 2005 (CHN) – Research by Japan’s Forum on Thermalism on the warm water mineral springs of Iran proved the springs’ therapeutic and medical qualities. The waters are understood to cure diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, blood pressure, nervous disorders, arteriosclerosis, arthropathy diseases, and improve blood circulation.

The Japanese have also proved that drinking water from some springs such as Arshia, Dehloran, Gonabad, Bazman, Dashte Azam, and Geno is not recommended for renal diseases, bladder diseases, and blood pressure.

Some of the centers such as Vanfagh, Sarpolzahab, Mahalat, and Ziarat do not enjoy any special therapeutic qualities.

The studies on the 26 spas and warm water springs of Iran started 3 years ago by the Forum on Thermalism, a Tokyo-based thermal-medicine institute to determine the detailed qualities of these springs scattered around the country; the results were submitted to Iran last week, to be published in the near future.

“The research has been carried out by Japan’s Thermalism Institute with cooperation and support of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran. This Institute sent 3 experts to Iran, from 3 to 31 of March 2005. During this time, they visited 23 warm water springs of Iran and took some samples to do research on, and took them to the laboratory of Toho University of Japan,” said Abdolhossein Naseri, head of medical tourism office of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization of Iran.

According to Naseri, the results will be used in creating proper grounds for the development of springs which enjoy enough medical qualities and will bring economic benefits.

Naseri told CHN that facilities will be provided for entrepreneurs who wish to invest in the development of spas and mineral water therapy centers in Iran. "

MIS a must for medical tourism- The Times of India

MIS a must for medical tourism- The Times of India: "LUCKNOW: Surgeons across the country have decided to sharpen their skills and adopt Minimal Invasive Surgery (MIS) in a big way to make India the favourite destination for 'medical tourism.' In fact, the painless and scarless MIS with reduced stay in hospital is the key to success.

The state capital has become the first step in surgeons' tryst with MIS. On Sunday, a group of surgeons, under the aegis of Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo-Surgeons (IAGES), attended the day long Laprocon-2005 and assessed the current MIS scenario, especially in UP.

A local laparoscopic surgeon claimed that currently only 20 per cent patients in Lucknow and eastern UP opt for MIS in comparison to around 90 per cent in New Delhi. 'The surgical scenario would undergo a sea change within the next decade,' declared Dr MG Bhat, president of IAGES in an interview with TOI on Sunday.

Dr Bhat, governor of Society of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (SELSA) believes that after Information Technology, the country would ride high on laproscopic surgery. 'In fact, we were never behind,' he said referring to the first laparoscopic surgery performed in 1989, by Dr TE Udwadia in Mumbai. "